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Forget simple science projects that let students demonstrate one skill at a time. STEM activities for high school involve elements of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, along with research, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills — all in one project! 

These innovative ideas inspire high schoolers to work outside the box and alongside their team members, inventing solutions to everyday problems. Discover how to bring STEM projects for high school to your science and math classrooms, as well as how to infuse STEM into every subject and celebrate fun STEM-related holidays.

Engaging Environmental Science STEM Projects

STEM education is a leading force in 21st-century green technology, including solar power and planet protection measures. Use these STEM activities for high school to emphasize the importance of environmental science, and to think of creative ways to solve problems of pollution, climate change, and deforestation.

• Rain Garden: Lead students in planting a rain garden at your school or outside your classroom, complete with regular precipitation measurement reports and sustainable watering systems.
• Greenhouse Effect: Study the ways the greenhouse effect affects the environment by placing a jar of ice water in the sun, then measuring how the temperature changes.
• Grass and Biomass Energy: Measure how much energy a flowerpot of grass can create with a longer-term environmental science project.

Physics-Focused STEM Activities for High School

Get the energy going in your classroom with STEM activities for high schoolers centered on physics principles. These class projects for high school engineering class or any other science course are practical ways to bring a multi-layered STEM approach to students’ understanding.

• Rube Goldberg Machine: Have student teams build a chain reaction machine using classroom and household objects, and see whose contraptions can achieve the best effects.
• Magnetic Levitating Trains: Create flying Maglev trains that appear to float on air as they suspend from magnetic fields.
• Rubber Band Guitars: Combine music and physics with a rubber band guitar project in which sound changes based on string tension and length.

Launch physics understanding with simple machines

Nothing gets students thinking and working faster than building machines. Using physics skills and teamwork, they can use levers, wheels and axles, wedges, pulleys, and more to create projects that get the job done.

Catapult Quadratics STEM Project Algebra 1 *Google Apps*
By AlgebraLove
Grades: 7th-12th
Subjects: Algebra, Algebra 2, Math

Combine algebra, physics, and medieval weaponry with an engaging STEM project that high schoolers will love. A complete project resource includes detailed instructions, presentation examples, and an editable Google spreadsheet for students to record distance, power, and accuracy of their catapult constructions.

Simulate physics concepts with everyday objects

To make physics concepts more tangible, look for everyday objects that can be used as manipulatives to illustrate physics principles. These can also double as art projects to make them STEAM activities. 

Half Life Modeling with Pennies Activity Distance Learning
By Sunrise Science
Grades: 8th-10th
Subjects: Chemistry, Physics

Students will pretend that pennies represent the nuclei of the radioactive isotope Pennium. They’ll collect data via multiple trials, average their data, sum their data with a small group, and then sum their data with all of the other groups in the class. The three data sets will be graphed, and students will discover the amazing pattern that exists in half-life graphs.

Fantastic Forensic Science STEM Activities

Perfect for high school science fair ideas or anyone who loves watching crime shows, forensic science STEM activities for high school are an intriguing way to bring biology, chemistry, physics, math, engineering, and many more concepts together. Turn your classroom into a fictional crime scene and watch the science unfold!

• Blood Spatter Geometry: Use geometric angles to measure the way blood spatters at a mock crime scene.
• Forensic Escape Room: Plan a series of STEM activities, including math problems, engineering challenges, and logical code-breaking, for student teams to break out of a class escape room.

Extract DNA from foods

Your class may not be able to work with human or animal DNA, but the next best thing is extracting DNA from foods, like strawberries. This gives students the opportunity to view real DNA. 

Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab with Demonstration Video- DNA Structure
By Suburban Science
Grades: 8th-10th
Subjects: Biology, Forensics

Who says you can’t see DNA? In this strawberry DNA extraction lab, students get to actually see the DNA strands! Teacher notes, student worksheets, lab directions, and a video demonstration are all provided.

Solve a crime with microscopic precision

Getting students involved in solving fictional crimes with hands-on activities is one of the easiest ways to get everyone in your class excited about the assignment. Look for lab activities that incorporate multiple STEM topics to get the most out of them. 

CSI Forensics | Forensic Science Microscope Crime Scene Analysis Lab Activity
By Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy
Grades: 5th-11th
Subjects: Biology, Environment, Forensics
Standards: NGSS MS-ETS1-1, 2, 3, 4

Who stole the school mascot? Use an NGSS-aligned forensics lab lesson to investigate a whodunnit mystery with household items and microscopes. This resource includes PDF handouts with teacher and student directions, as well as a PowerPoint and answer key to guide students through the crime scene.

Blood Spatter Scavenger Hunt
By The Trendy Science Teacher
Grades: 9th-12th
Subjects: Criminal Justice-Law, Forensics

This forensics activity is ready to use- just print, fold, and hang! Keep the activity in your classroom, or make it a school-wide search! Either way, this scavenger hunt is sure to engage and motivate all of your students.

Astronomical Astronomy STEM Activities for High Schoolers

Some science projects are just out of this world! Bring astronomy labs for high school to your classroom, complete with STEM skills to round out the activities for any science classroom. 

• Backyard Rocketry: Have teams design, build, and launch rockets using the principles of thrust and pressure.
• Gravity Calculation: Research the gravity levels of other planets in the universe, and create weighted models to demonstrate how much an item’s weight would change based on the planet it’s on.
• Model the Galaxy: Map the location of Earth and other astronomical bodies on an image of the Milky Way, then display the maps as decorative art projects in the classroom. 

Cool Chemistry STEM Projects for Teens

There’s no shortage of impressive chemistry experiments for high school, and when you add STEM skills like math, engineering, and technology, you’ll get the class chemistry just right. Use these STEM activities for high school on special science holidays, such as Mole Day, or any other time of the school year.

• Glow-in-the-Dark Water: Create beautifully glowing art projects with mixtures of water and quinine under ultraviolet or blacklight.
• Analyze Sports Drinks: Compare the electrolytes in various sports drinks with a nutritionally sound STEM activity involving chemistry and graphing.
• Penny Batteries: Explore chemical energy with a stack of pennies, washers, and cardboard, along with salt water, vinegar, and an LED light to demonstrate the penny battery’s electrical power.

Lab 6: What is the concentration of blue dye in a sports drink?
By A Chemistry Guide
Grades: 10th-12th
Subject: Chemistry

A structured inquiry approach helps streamline lab time in this AP Chemistry-aligned activity. The document includes a student handout, teacher answer key, and an FRQ section.  

How to Bring STEM to Any Class

Feeling left out because you don’t teach a math or science class? Don’t worry — there are STEM activities for any high school subject! Use these interdisciplinary ideas to bring STEM anywhere in your students’ schedule.

• Have students apply CCSS concepts to their STEM projects and experiments by giving oral presentations in ELA classes about what they’ve learned, or by writing a complete expository essay about the STEM subject they’re researching.
• Encourage music students to find, play, or write a piece of music that reminds them of particular STEM concepts (such as the water cycle, architecture, geometry, or modern technology).
• Celebrate Pi Day in every class with Pi Day activities and parties! Serve pie (any kind, including pizza) and encourage students to research the history of pi in social studies.
• Assign teams in PE to form a hypothesis about the way their bodies work when they play a particular sport or game. Have them follow up with individual or group research in science, and present their findings later in the week.

Style STEM lessons for learning and fun with TPT

STEM isn’t just an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math: It’s a state of mind that allows students to look past specific topics and toward more creative scientific and mathematical solutions. Whether you’re celebrating National STEM Day on November 8th or looking to inspire future innovators with everyday lessons, you’ll find everything you need in these valuable high school STEM resources.